Combined elevator-door closure and switch



March 24, 1925. 7' 1,530,964

w. w. WEEKS COMBINED ELEVATOR DOOR CLOSURE AND SWITCH Filed Oct. 22, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYb 2 Sheets-Sheet -w. w. WEEKS comamrm ELEVATOR DOOR CLOSURE AND SWITCH Filed Oct 22, 1923 March 24; 1925,.

Patented Mar. 24,1925.

; UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM WALLACE "wE Ks; or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO ELEVATOR SUPPLIES COMPANY, INC., A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY.

COMBINED ELEVATOR-noon oLosuEE AND SWITCH.

Application filed October 22, 1923. Serial lll'o. 670,074.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that 1, WILLIAM VVALLACE v burns, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding at 366 Fourth Street, Brooklyn, N. .1 have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Combined Elevator-Door Closures and Switches, of which the following-is a clear, full, ,and exact description.

The present invention relates particularly vto a door closure and an electric switch com- "bined therewith, by means of which elevator doors and similar devices may be operated, and by which the elevator door. ii iay be checked in either itsopening or closing movethem or botl1,; and which will serve at the same time to control the elevator operating circuit soas to open and close the circuit with the opening and closing movement of the door.

Broadly, the invention comprises an electric switch-combined withan elevator door operating means, whether of the pneumatically operated form having cushioning means, or of the form embodying only a door check cushioning with either a liquid or a gas.

In-the use of elevator door closures in which the elevator door is operated by hand is'opencd and closed. Theupkeep of such' switches has been extremely high and has necessitated a great deal of care and attention in the replacement of worn parts so as to maintain efficient elevator operation. Furthermore, it has been the custom for elevator operators to disconnect-the switches from the toggle levers so that the circuit will not be opened when the elevator doors are opened, thereby attaining more rapid ele vator operation by startingthe elevator before the elevator doors are closed and allowing the doors to close after the elevator has left the particidarfloor. This practice has considerably increased the danger in elevator operation, which it is the purpose of the switch to overcome by opening the. elevat r Operating circuit when the elevator doors are opened. r

' The present invention provides a switch serving the same purposeas that formerly employed, but which is not accessible and which may not'be tampered with Or disconnected except by. two persons, and the task of disconnecting the switch is sutlicient to discourage attempts to disconnect it so that it will fail to open the circuit when the elevator doors are opened.

lhe primary object ofthe present inventi on is to provide an'elevator-door operating mechanism and switch, combined in one apparatus, in which the switch is not accessible to be tampered wither to be shifted. By this means the operation (if the elevator circuit switch will be made dependent entirely upon the operation of the elevator door. v

Another object of the invention is to provide a combined switch and door closer which maybe manufactured at a low cost and in which a high eiiiciency is attained in the making and breaking of the elevator operating circuit.

Another object of the invention is to provide a switch, which may be operated in the presence ofoil, by which excessive heating due to arcin'gin the switch during the mak,

ing and breaking of the circuit is prevented, thus decreasing the wear and depreciation of the switch.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention comprises the various features hereinafter described and more particularly defined in the claims.

The invention will be described in connection with' the accompanying drawings showing which 7 Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a combined elevator doorcheck and'switch, comprising the preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view of the circuit closing means in" the device shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line as of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional View taken on the line H of Fig. 1;

F ig. 5 is a view in elevation partly in section, of the combined elevator door check and switch in mounted position, showing the manner in which it may be attached to' toggle levers or other mechanism to be operated, and

Fig. 6 is a view illustrating the mode in a preferred embodiment thereof, in d whichthecombined check and switch mayber mounted in "connection, with elevator doors, the device being shown operatively connected to the ordinary form of toggle levers.

' In the operation of elevator doors it is common practice to open and-close the doors by means of toggle levers of some form to which checking means or dampening means are connected in order to prevent slamming or jarring in the movements of the door.

One form of-checking device which has been developed embodies closing means comprising a spring which-is compressed when thedoor is opened and'which assists in the closing movement of the elevator door by int-the drawings, although the inventionxis not limited to the: embodiment in a device" of the-form shown, and I contemplate em, bodying a switclrin a similar way in other forms of closures, such as in the pneumati .means of the energy attained in the opening I movement thereof. -It i's to this form-ofelevator door operator that the present i nvention is particularly applied, as illustrated cally-operated elevator door operating mechanisms.

Referring I more; particularly. to. the acv 'companying draw ngS, 2 represents a cylinfl dercasing to which a plunger cylinder 4 is attached by any suitable means, such as a connecting member 6, having. a flanged pori 22 through which the plunger rod 14 passes.

tion 10.Wl1i0l1 is connected to the" cylinder casing 2 by screwthreaded connections 8.

The connecting member 6, which is preferably madeintegral with the plunger cylinder 4, serves iii-combination with the plunger cylinder and its head asa closure for' one end of the casing 2. lVithin-the casing 2is a spring retaining me'mber,12 which is attached to a plunger rod 14, which has con nected thereto at its lo'wer'end a plunger 16 operating in the. plunger cylinder 4. At the lower end of the'cylinder 4 is a cylinder head 1'- Ct1p 1 8, which is preferably formed with a' lug 20, which may be connected to a suitable bracket 23 serving as an attat hing means ,for one end of the device, whenin operative position. The dev ce '15 further supported in position .by' means. of a connection 15 between the-plunger rod 14 and. the togglelevers 17 attached to an elevatordoor or doors to be operated, as illustrated in Figure 6. v

The upper portion of the cylinder 2 is closedv bymeans of a' cylinder head or cap The cap or head 22 and the piston or retain- .ing means 12 serve to hold acompression spring 24 in position within the casing 2, by means of which the toggle levers are operated to return tlie.'elevator door to itsclosed position after it has been manually opened. In the operation of the plunger 16 in the cylinder 4 to cushion the movements of the toggle levers and door, I preferably employoil, by means of which the movements of the plunger in the cylinder may be controlled; VVithin the walls of thecylin der 4 I provide an oil passage 25' extending from the lower end of the cylinderto the upper or-middle'portio'n thereof. The means for regulating or varying the amount of cush oning 2101319151111 the device comprises a regulating screw 21- in the oilpassage, which may .be adjusted-in position from without so'as tofattain any desired amount of cusliioning or checking action. W v

. In order to provide a switch with n the device whose operation willbe dependent upon the movements of the elevator door, I employ two circuit terminals 26, 28, which pass through the base of the connecting member 6 into the interior of thecylinder 2. The leads 30, 82 of the controller circuit of an elevator may be attached to the terminals 26, 28 exterio r tothe cylinder by any suitable means such as nuts 34, 36; It is preferable to enclose the exterior portions of theter minals in a box, which may be locked orotherwise secured, as will be apparent to vided by means of whichall metallic contact between the terminals and portions of the cylinder is avoided The upper portions of the terminals 26, 28, are preferably laterally extended or flattened .into' heads 42, 44

by means of which a large surface of contact may be attained between the terminals and a conducting member 46 by means of openedand" closed. The conducting member 46comprises an annular ring of suitable conducting material, such as copper, for ex-' ample, and is so disposed in the devicethat when the elevator door is opened by-a small amount or'thereabouts'), the elevator operating circ'uitwill be opened, thereby preventing movement of the elevator until the elevator door is again-closed or substantially closed. a

"In order that the elevator circuitonay not be opened with movements of less thana certain predetermined amount, as for' example, and also to provide a pressure contact between the conducting member-46 and the terminals 26, 28 when the switch is closed, the conducting member 46 is connected to an insulating member 48 (see Fig.

2) by yieldable means, such as two set screws: 50, 52 which are rigidly connected to the screws 50, 52 which pass through openings 51, 53 (see Fig. 4) in the annular ring 48 have heads 55, 57, (see Figs. 1 and 2) which cooperate with project-ionsiin the openings which serve to support the set screws 50, 52,

and to limit their movement relative to the insulating member member, together with the screws 50, 52, is normally forced downwardly by means of compression springs 54, 56, positioned around the set screws inre cesses 59, 61 in the member 48. By this means 'the annular conducting member 46 18 held against the terminals 26, 28 when the elevator door is in closedpositionu- The annular'n-oirconducting or msulatmg member 48 1S suitably "attached to the spring retaining means 12 as by set screws 11, 13, for example. The spring retainer 12 is attached to the plunger rod 14 in any suitable manner 'as by means of a pin and slot cdnnection 58,- whereby when the plungerro'd 14 isoperated through the movements of the toggle lever 17, the spring-retaining means 12 is moved correspondingly together with the non-conductor 48. The conducting member 46 remains in contact with terminals 26, 28 until in the upward movement of the plunger rod and the member 48, the projections in the open-- ings 51, 53 come into contact with the heads 55, 57 ofthe set screws 50, 52, thus raising the conducting memberv 46 out of contact with the terminals 26, 28, and breaking the elevator operating circuit. t is apparent that the set screws 50, 52, may be made of anydesired length so as to obtain a breaking of the circuit at any predetermined position of the member 48 corresponding to a certain predetermined position of the elevator door.

In the operation of the device the plunger cylinder contains a sufficient amount of oil to suitably cushion the movements of the plunger, and the lower portion of the cylinder 2 preferably contains oil to a height above the terminals 26, 28 and the conduct ing member 46 when in closed position, so

that when the circuit is opened the oil will prevent arcing and will serve also to maintain the switch contact members cool, and, thus prevent deterioration thereof.

While the switch has been described asv 46. The conducting en ng means, whereby a with the opening and action, combined with a controller circuit switch embodied therein .in the manner as setforth in connection with the door check and closer asabove described. It is to be understood, furthermore, v that various changes and modifications maybe made in the device without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a device of the class described, a door check, means for operatively connecting said check to a door, dampening means in said check, and an'electricswitch within said door check foropening and closing a circuit with the movements of said door.

2. In-a device of the class described, a

'do or check,.means for operatively connect mg 831d vcheck to a door, means in the said check for cushioning the movements ofsaid door, circuit terminals within the said check and a conductingmember operatively'connecte'dtosaid. dampening means for-open ing and-closing a circuit between said terminals with the opening and closing'anovements of said doors V In a device of the class described, a door check, means for operatively connecting said check to an elevator door, cushioning means in said check adapted to cushion the movement of said elevator door, an selectricswitch within said check having station terminals and a movable conducting member operatively connected to said damp- 7 circuit throughthe said terminals will be opened and closerv of said elevator door.

4. In a device of the class described, an elevatordoorcheck, dampening means in said check andan electric switch within said 'doorscheck for closing the elevator operat ing circuit when the elcvator door to which said check is connected is closed.

llna device of the class. described, a door check, means for operatively connect ing said check to an elevator door, dampening means in said check, an electricswitch immersed in oil within said check, said switch being operatively connected to said elevator door, whereby the switch will be opened when the elevator door is moved from its closed position.

6.1n an elevator door closer, a check adapted to be operatively connected tothe toggle lovers of an elevator door, a casing, a plunger cylinder connected to said casin a plunger in said plunger cylinder, sprin means in said casing for returning said elevator door to its closed position aiter opening movement thereof, and an electric switch in said casing comprising switch terminals and a movable contact member, said contact member being adapted to operate closing movements i with the movements of said elevator door to open andv close a'ci'rcuit through said switch.

j '7. .In a door check, a casing, cushioningv 'meansin the'casing 'comprising a plunger and plunger cylinder, a-passageway in the passageway from onepo tion f saidcylinduring predetermined portions of the stroke .of said plunger, an electric switch in saidand closing the circuit through said switch,

" tively connected to said plunger, and means p ingrsaid conducting member, said means comprisinga conducting member opera whereby the circuit through said switch will be opened after a predetermined limitedmovement of said plunger,

8. .In a device of'the class described, a

casing, a piston in said casing,.means forconncting one of said parts to a.mecha-' nism to be operated, a plunger cylinder b ne v doorcheck, means for operatively connect-J ing'said check to the toggle levers of an elevator door, cushioning means in said nected to said casing, a plunger in said 'plunger cylinder, a plunger rod connected -to said plunger and said piston, spring means in said casing for returnino' said plunger and piston after movement tli wherebysaid -mechanism is operated, an

electric switch within said casing comprising switch terminals and 'a conducting mem ber adapted to be moved in and out of contact with said terminals, whereby a circuit 1 through said terminals maybe opened and closed, and meansv foroperatively connecting said conducting-member to said piston whereby the opening and closing movements.

of the said switch are made dependent upon the movement of said mechanism.-

9.. In' a device of the class described, a door check, dampening means in said check, an electric switch Withinsaid check comprising switch terminals and a movable conducting member, means for operatively conder to another, whereby the movements of said-plunger may be cushioned or checked casing adapted to beconncted to an eleva- Y tor controller circuit, means for opening er'eof necting said movable conducting member to said dampening means, whereby a limited moveinent of saiddampening means 'may take place without opening the circuit through said switch-L 10. In a device of tlie'clas's described, a .7 door check, means for operatively -connect--- ing said checkto the toggle levers of an elevator door, cushioning means in saidclieck comprising a plunger operating in a plunger cylinder, means for maintaining oil in said cylinder; to cushionthe movements of said plunger and 'said mechanism, switch ternnnalsinsaid casing adapted to be operatively connected to the controller circuit of an elevator, a conducting member adapted to open'and-close a circuitthrough said terminals, means for yieldably supportcheck comprisi g a plunger operating in a -in said cylinder to cushion the movements plunger cyl nd r, means for maintaining oil of said plunger and said mechanism, switch terminals in said casing ada ted to be oper-J- atively connected to the controller circuit of an elevator, a conducting member-j adapted to openand close a circuit through said terminahmeans for yieldably supportingsaid conducting member on said piston, said means com risin an' insulatin member and spring means for holding" saidconductterminals when said elevator closed position. v Signed at New York city, N. Y., this 19th day of October, 1923. e

* ing member in pressure contact with said ;door is In WILLIAM WALLACE WEEKS. 

